During a live phone-in to Chechen State Television and Radio Company Grozny, Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov said that he was tired of power and service in public office. However, he added that despite his feelings, he would still stand for re-election in 2026, when his current term ends.
‘If you ask me, I am fed up to the neck with this power and serving the people. I think that new forces, new people would be more interesting, there would be an improvement in the situation if there were different people’, Kadyrov said on air.
At the same time, he added that he was ready to put forward his candidacy again for the post of head of the republic if such a proposal came from Russian President Vladimir Putin and was supported by the residents of Chechnya. According to Kadyrov, he considers himself obliged to remain faithful to serving the people and does not intend to abandon this ‘until the end of his life’.
Kadyrov became Head of Chechnya in April 2007 — he is the longest-serving regional leader in modern Russia. During the last election in September 2021, Kadyrov received 99.7% of the vote with a turnout of 94.42%.
This is not the first time Kadyrov has made statements about a possible departure from office. In September 2022, he said that he had ‘stayed too long’ as Chechen Head and had ‘earned an indefinite and long holiday’. At the time, he expressed hope that his decision would be ‘understood and supported’.
However, in July 2023, Kadyrov changed his rhetoric and announced his intention to run again, emphasising that, allegedly, no alternatives to him were being considered.
‘No one is looking for anyone to replace me, and I will not allow a situation to arise where it becomes necessary to look. When the term expires, with the permission of Allah, I will go to the elections again, and if the people elect me, I will continue to work’, Kadyrov said.
In early May 2025, he once again returned to the topic of a possible resignation. Commenting on rumours about his departure, Kadyrov said that he himself had asked to be relieved of his post.
‘I have also heard these rumours. They write all sorts of things. On the contrary, I myself am asking to be relieved of my post. I hope that my request will be supported’, he told journalists at the time.
In recent years, Kadyrov has repeatedly stressed that the final decisions about his political future depend on the position of the president of Russia.
Russian independent media outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe reported that Kadyrov was diagnosed with pancreatic necrosis in 2019.
Since then, sporadic reports in independent media and opposition Telegram channels have speculated about his possible hospitalisations and his health. In April 2024, Kadyrov attempted to dispel such rumours by releasing a video showing him exercising.
Novaya Gazeta Europe further reported that Kadyrov’s condition had deteriorated sharply in 2025, with a report in February suggesting that he underwent medical treatment at a private clinic in Grozny owned by his wife, Medni Kadyrova. Sources claim he did not leave the clinic for several weeks.
Elizaveta Chukharova
